Well, maybe Ma will forgive me!
Posted on 09/19/2014 6:01:06 PM PDT by AZamericonnie
As you’ll see over the next few hours, Tandyn Almer’s output has its highs and lows, but the imagination and creativity is there. Some creative lives are just out of sync with their times. The good news, coming in the last entry, is that there is renewed interest in his songwriting.
It’s amazing how some songwriters have continued (sometimes barely noticed) for YEARS.
Leonard Cohen comes to mind!
OH Kathy my uncle send me the link
Barrow getting snowwwww
http://seaice.alaska.edu/gi/observatories/barrow_webcam
Another one was Boz Scaggs. When Rita Coolidge recorded “We’re All Alone” in 1977, I was stunned to find that the song was written by Scaggs. I didn’t think him capable of writing a beautiful song with such a long line.
This was recorded in 1966 by a British band produced by the legendary George Martin, producer of the Beatles and a man with classical training. The song oscillates between C Major and C minor, and the sense of menace in the verses is palpable. The chorus goes up a half-tone – the Neapolitan modulation so beloved of Schubert – into D-flat Major that is almost California sunshine pop. Catch the harpsichord that Martin inserts into the arrangement.
Boz Scaggs wrote some very interesting songs with cool jazz chord changes.
Unfortunately, a lot of his stuff was popular during the “Disco” era, but his music was more sophisticated than run-of-the-mill disco.
Wow...George Martin’s fingerprints are all over that one!
I like the bass line!
Martin’s conservatory training was just right for McCartney’s genius, and here you can hear what a pro could do with Tandyn Almer’s music. I wish Almer had had Martin available to produce his work. Musical history might have been different.
I love it!
He reminds me a little of Van Morrison in that one.
I could never figure out why “Dinah Flo” wasn’t a hit. It got air play at the three Seattle stations (KING, KJR, KOL) and the one Tacoma station (KTAC), but it never caught on.
Indeed. The Producer can make or break a song.
I remembered it when I played the video, but, like I said, it was a little more sophisticated musically that what was being pumped out onto the dance floor.
How can you be sure you get your songs recorded? For those who were here for ths songbook of Paul Williams and Roger Nichols several years ago, you’ll remember that both men created their own bands – Roger Nichols & Friends at A&M for Roger, and Holy Mackerel at Warner Brothers for Paul.
The Paper Fortress was Eddie Hodges’ band, produced and arranged by Tandyn Almer in 1968. Almer was fond of thickly textured productions; there are a lot of things going on at any given moment. Catch the clarinet in the middle!
The label on which these songs appeared went belly-up shortly thereafter, and it was only last year that Almer’s work with Hodges saw the light of day. This is another one that sounds a little like Todd Rundgren. Hodges handled lead vocals, and Almer over-dubbed the rest. These songs might have had a future had someone like George Martin been at the console. Unfortunately, they sound as though they were recorded in Hodges’ garage.
Good afternoon, Publius, and thank you for this week’s Rockumentary: The Tandyn Almer Songbook. ((HUGS))
“Katrina, Rita”
Wow! You seem to be near me. Ike passed directly over us. ;-)
Always happy to entertain our troops — and our Canteen DJ’s.
Van Morrison has been a favorite of mine for years.
Van Morrison - Have I told You lately [Official Video 1989]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpq5vDccLTg
Ike...oh yeah. I forgot about him! The worst one, for our area anyway, was Wilma!
Well, maybe Ma will forgive me!
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